The mitral valve is one of four heart valves that direct blood through the two sides of the heart. The mitral valve itself consists of two leaflets, an anterior leaflet and a posterior leaflet, each of which are passive in that the leaflets open and close in response to pressure placed on the leaflets by the pumping of the heart.
Among the problems that can develop or occur with respect to the mitral valve is mitral valve regurgitation (MR), in which the mitral valve leaflets become unable to close properly, thus causing leakage of the mitral valve. Severe mitral regurgitation is a serious problem which, if left untreated, can adversely affect cardiac function and thus compromise the patient's quality of life and life-span.
Currently, mitral regurgitation is diagnosed by many indicators, and the mechanism of mitral regurgitation can be accurately visualized by transesophageal echocardiography. The most prevalent and widely accepted current technique to correct mitral regurgitation is to repair the mitral valve via open heart surgery while a patient's heart is stopped and the patient is on cardiopulmonary bypass, a highly invasive procedure that has inherent risks.
Nonetheless, this invasive technique for repairing mitral regurgitation is currently favored because it allows for complete visualization of the mitral valve without the accompanying distraction and disruption of a beating heart, and because it is believed to allow for repair of the mitral valve with an unmatched degree of certainty and accuracy. Non-surgical, percutaneous repair of the mitral valve is not currently utilized because of the perceived difficulty of effecting repair of the mitral valve while the heart is not arrested, and because of the limited amount of space in and around the mitral valve in which to route a repair device or devices.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a less invasive yet equally effective procedure for repairing a mitral valve.
It also would be desirable to provide a procedure for diagnostic manipulation of the mitral valve in order to effectuate mitral valve regurgitation repair.